This invention pertains to a web product, and a method of forming a web product, which is wound in a roll. More particularly, the web product is marked at predetermined locations so that, when the web is unwound to expose the marker, a user will know that a predetermined portion of the length of the web has been unwound.
Web products are used for many purposes. For example, a roll of pressure-sensitive adhesive-coated tape is a web backing provided with an adhesive coating on one surface. Rolls of tape have many uses, one of which is to wrap the handlebar of a bicycle both for aesthetic purposes and to provide a more grippable surface.
One problem that has been encountered with wound rolls of prior art web products, such as pressure-sensitive tape, is the inability for a user to determine how much tape has been used and how much tape is left in the roll. For example, in wrapping the handlebar of a bicycle with tape, it is preferable to wrap each side of the handlebar separately, which necessitates cutting the tape when one side is completed. With prior art rolls of tape, a user is unable to determine how much tape remains in the roll, and the difficulty is compounded by the fact that the diameter of the roll of tape constantly changes as the tape is unwound.
Due to these problems, manufacturers of prior art rolls of tape that are intended for use in wrapping the handlebar provide two separate rolls of tape--one for each side of the handlebar. It is much more expensive to manufacture and market two rolls of tape than to make a single roll which is twice as long.